Nicklas Backstrom is a believer in puck luck

BOSTON (AP) — Nicklas Backstrom is a believer in puck luck www.officialflames.com , something the Capitals have had plenty of against the Bruins in recent years.Backstrom and his teammates had luck on their side again Thursday night as he scored the third-period winner to help Washington win its 14th straight over the Boston Bruins with a 4-2 victory.“Sometimes hockey isn’t fair,” Backstrom said after the Capitals won despite being outshot 41-22. “Even if they win the shots, we got the win. It’s weird sometimes.”Backstrom, who sat out Wednesday’s game against Philadelphia with an illness, glided in to the Bruins’ zone and ripped a left-circle wrister past Jaroslav Halak for the go-ahead goal with 14:14 remaining.Alexander Ovechkin netted his NHL-leading 31st and 32nd goals of the season, and also had the highlight hit of the game when he sent Zdeno Chara — the NHL’s tallest player ever at 6-foot-9 — flipping head over heels into the Capitals’ bench on a shove late in the first period.The TD Garden crowd gasped, but play continued and there was no immediate on-ice retaliation. The Bruins captain tumbled back onto the ice quickly and rejoined the play.Ovechkin declined to speak with reporters after the game about the hit.Jakub Vrana also had a goal for the Capitals, whose streak against the Bruins dates to March 29, 2014.“Didn’t happen again against this team. Have to get over that hurdle,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. “A lot of nights that would be good enough for points, if not two points, but not tonight.”Ryan Donato and David Krejci each had goals for Boston. The Bruins suffered a season-opening 7-0 blowout loss at Washington on Oct. 3 when the Capitals celebrated last season’s Stanley Cup title.“That was a different night Calgary Flames T-Shirts Authentic , but at the same time you know they’re always coming out hard at home,” Backstrom said. “I feel like they’re way more physical at home than maybe on the road.”Halak had 18 saves for Boston, which had its five-game win streak snapped.“I didn’t make a save on the third goal. That’s the bottom line,” Halak said. “I got outplayed by their goalie, and you know, they got a win, so we just need to be better.”Washington led 1-0 after the first period despite being outshot 17-5. T.J. Oshie grabbed a giveaway by the Bruins and flipped the puck from the Capitals’ end to a wide-open Vrana, who beat Halak with 13:22 to play.Tensions boiled over in the second when Washington’s Lars Eller and Boston’s Brad Marchand got tangled up during a play. Eller, whose celebration in front of the Boston bench after scoring the Capitals’ seventh goal in the opener drew postgame criticism from Marchand, was sent to the penalty box for unsportsmanlike conduct.Donato tied it at 1 with 5:49 to play in the second. But, Ovechkin quieted the TD Garden crowd 39 seconds later when he converted after a feed from behind the net to make it 2-1.Krejci ripped the tying power-play goal past Holtby from the right circle with 15:23 remaining in the third.Ovechkin scored into an empty net with 1:35 left to seal the victory.NOTES: Bruins D Charlie McAvoy missed his seventh straight game with a foot infection. He participated fully in Wednesday’s practice and could return for Saturday’s game against Toronto. … Washington D John Carlson, born in nearby Natick Calgary Flames Hoodies Authentic , Massachusetts, celebrated his 29th birthday. … Boston announced a partnership with the Boston Pride of the National Women’s Hockey League team on Thursday. The Bruins are the fourth NHL franchise to partner with a NWHL team.UP NEXTCapitals: Host Columbus on Saturday night.Bruins: Visit the Maple Leafs on Saturday night. The Nashville Predators have been dominant against the Anaheim Ducks in recent years, and the top team in the Western Conference will try to continue that trend when the teams meet Monday night at Honda Center.The Predators (13-3-0) have won two playoff series in the past three seasons against the Ducks and have gone 6-2-1 in regular-season meetings in that span.The odds appear stacked against the Ducks again Monday as the Predators have won five in a row for the second time this season to bring the NHL’s best record into the game.Article continues below ...The Ducks have dropped nine of their past 11 games (2-7-2) to erase a promising 5-1-1 start.They were beset by injuries during the early part of the season, but as key players have begun returning to the lineup, the Ducks have been unable to turn the corner and start building a winning streak.Anaheim posted emotional wins in the past week against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets and Calgary Flames, only to lose one-sided games to the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild the next time they took the ice.After the 5-1 loss to the Wild on Friday night, some veterans on the Ducks questioned their mental approach.“We gained a little bit of momentum with how we’ve been playing, and we knew it was going to be a game that we needed to play tight. We needed to earn it,” Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano said. “That just shows we weren’t willing to do anything to win the game.”The Predators swept all three meetings against the Ducks last season.In the final meeting on March 8 in Nashville, Anaheim center Ryan Kesler and Predators center Ryan Johansen dropped their gloves late in the second period after Nashville scored short-handed to go up 3-0.Johansen said after the 4-2 victory that Kesler had been requesting a fight for most of the game.Then in August, Kesler tweeted for the first time in months, randomly asking Johansen how his summer training was going Calgary Flames Hats Authentic , and if he’d like to “meet me in the streets before we get going on the ice.”Johansen simply replied, “I’ll pay for your parking.”Presumably, that meeting never took place, so Monday night will be the first time they’ve faced each other since last March.The Predators were without forward Calle Jarnkrok in their 5-4 overtime victory at the Dallas Stars on Saturday because of a lower-body injury. He participated in warmups, so there’s a good chance he’s close to returning.One area the Predators hope to improve is their power play. They came into Sunday with a 13.6-percent success rate, tied with the Montreal Canadiens for 30th in the NHL. Nashville finished 12th in the league last year at 21.2 percent.Nashville defenseman Roman Josi scored a power-play goal with 42.5 seconds left in regulation against the Stars on Saturday, allowing the Predators to win their eighth straight road game to open the season, but told the Tennessean they’re not satisfied with their overall production with the man-advantage.“We’re not happy with the way it’s going right now,” He said. “It’s something we want to change as soon as possible.”